Checkmate
by freezep0p
Summary: Because mind games were their foreplay, and tea parties, their only escape from boredom. Bern/Lambda, spoilers for EP6.


An exasperated sigh escaped Bern's lips as she gazed down at the teacup resting upon the dimly-lit table before her. The tea itself was innocent enough – well, as innocent as tea brewed by a witch could possibly be – but the fact that Lambda had so mercilessly insisted upon hosting this particular tea party was reason enough to raise her guest's suspicions.

To simply indulge such a request would normally be the most adequate way to appease her friend's persistence, but something about this specific cup of tea managed to send a light shiver down her spine – a rare sensation, for the notorious "cruelest witch in the world."

"You're not going to drink it?" whined Lambda, breaking Bern's train of thought as she anxiously leaned across the table. The impact of her sudden movement shook the fragile teacup, causing a small splash to stain the tablecloth.

Bern was overwhelmingly reminded of an overexcited puppy bringing its master a dead pigeon, wagging its tail with the naïve expectation of praise. It wasn't an entirely unfair comparison, she noted, gazing down into the cup once more with a slightly more visible hint of reluctance. The tea itself had been horridly oversteeped to the point of possibly lethal bitterness, and a cluttered mess of leaves clouded the tea's surface, distorting her reflection beyond recognition.

Bern briefly wondered as to whether Lambda had purposely chosen to make the tea so horrifically bitter, just for the sake of getting a reaction; surely, a thousand-year-old witch would have knowledge of how to properly brew tea? All in all, the idea seemed rather plausible, and horribly predictable. Bern yawned.

She returned her gaze to the other witch, her stoic expression serving to only emphasize the silence that already so dreadfully tantalized the room with its presence. Of course, Lambda could quite easily see through this façade – from the subtle hints of amusement written upon the corners of the other witch's lips, to the faint glimmer of interest captivating her seemingly empty eyes.

Bern was all too aware of the other girl's intuitive nature, and utterly detested her for it. However, having suffered yet another loss in the previous game, she didn't feel particularly motivated to play along with Lambda's little charade. She briefly closed her eyes, releasing yet another unimpressed sigh before speaking.

"And to think… had this tea party provided me with any particular amusement, I had planned on rewarding you with a full-body massage of melted marshmallows and honey."

She glanced down once again at the tea with a brief hint of pity, and then proceeded to relieve it of its existence, transforming it into a sea of golden butterflies with the snap of her fingers.

Lambda pouted, defensively folding her arms across her chest.

"I worked really hard on that, you know! Sure, some of the tea leaves spilled out… but it was prepared with the utmost amount of love~! _'Without love, it cannot be seen!', _remember?_"_

Lambda smirked at the phrase, her intent in provoking Bern made painfully obvious by this point.

"If you have nothing better with which to entertain me, I'll be taking my leave," said Bern, rising from her seat, "As the next game master, I'd rather not waste my time with such trivialities."

"H-hey, wait!" cried Lambda, evidently distressed that the finer details of her "plan" had gone astray. She quickly sprinted after Bern, clinging onto one of the loose ends of her sleeves. After a moment's hesitation to construct an appropriate improvisation, she grazed her lips upon those of the other girl's with a swift, somewhat awkward, movement.

"Do I taste any better than the tea?" she questioned, a crooked smile forming on her lips as she pulled away.

Bern cringed at the line. Of course, this is what she must have had in mind all along. Once again, Bern was reminded of a puppy – she mentally grimaced for having forgotten that such a creature had fangs behind its innocent exterior. However, against every ounce of her better judgment, she couldn't help but to find Lambda's antics somewhat endearing. (Of course, she'd never verbally confess to this fact. That would be no better than admitting defeat, succumbing to the whims of Lambda's little games.)

She lazily turned away from the other girl's embrace, with a slight hint of disbelief as she attempted to formulate a response.

"Your lips taste… like popcorn, actually," she admitted. "Of course, I _had_ suspected that you were the one responsible for throwing that little distraction at Dlanor during the wedding crash."

Lambda's face quickly lit up, as though she were proud to receive recognition for her self-proclaimed brilliance.

"Ohoho, so you noticed!" she chimed, clapping her hands together with a narcissistic delight, "I thought you would be impressed!"

"Dlanor… what a useless piece, getting distracted by such a trifling annoyance," murmured Bern, somewhat detached as her thoughts drifted back to the last game. Of course, she hadn't actually been present at the time – instead, she merely heard of the aftermath from some goats who had attended the wedding.

"Though, she wasn't nearly as a useless as Erika," she continued, with a morbid grin, "I almost regret leaving halfway through the ceremony. I wonder what kind of expression she had on her face as she was banished into the darkest realm of purgatory…"

"It's too bad she just went off and vanished like that!" pouted Lambda, "we could have made an Erika à la mode, topped with whipped cream and strawberries... it would have been the perfect desert to complement those Ange burgers!"

Lamba paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, as though having suddenly remembered her original intent in inviting Bern to her humble tea party.

"Though, I'm sure Bern would make an even more delectable dessert~"

Bern winced once again, and briefly wondered if Lambda had been getting lessons in pick-up lines from Battler. The blonde-haired girl sighed wistfully, somewhat forcefully intertwining her fingers with Bern's own as she leaned forward for a kiss. Bern briefly considered protesting, but the thought was quickly extinguished as Lambda began trailing her lips across the other girl's porcelain skin.

Lambda's breath felt surprisingly hot against her neck, slowly melting away the defenses she had so greatly fought to maintain. These little mind games had always been their foreplay of sorts, which each advance serving to further the other's chances of victory. Bern momentarily opened her eyes, curious as to how exactly she had allowed herself to become entrapped within this particular game. Surely, it hadn't been voluntary… ?

As often as Lambda spoke of sadistic cravings, her movements always seemed almost painfully passive, with only the subtlest amounts of desperation present as she traced her fingers down the other girl's back. Bern shuddered, somewhat frustrated with herself for having such exploitable sensitivities.

_Check._

"A-ah…" Bern gasped, her guard successfully penetrated by Lambda's final move. Her cry was so soft that, had anyone else been listening, it may have been perceived as all but inaudible. However, Lambda was certainly not "anyone else," and much to Bern's misfortune, was very much aware of this slip-up. All of Bern's pieces had finally been sprawled out across the chessboard, helplessly exposed to the mercy of her opponent.

"_Checkmate," _Lambda whispered into her ear, suppressing an entirely inelegant giggle.

Bern's face burnt a deep shade of red, an occurrence so uncommon that even Lambda appeared a bit awe-stricken by the reaction. The fact that she had coerced Bern into losing her composure _twice_ within the same hour was nothing short of a miracle. The irony of such a situation not lost upon Lambda, who hastily decided to make her exit before suffering any repercussions for her actions.

"[[See you in the next game]], Bern!" she teased, striking a quick victory pose before vanishing into a cloud of golden butterflies. Bern sighed to herself as silence once again filled the room, leaving her with the surprisingly calm aftermath of her loss.

Perhaps losing wasn't quite so bad, after all.


End file.
